Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Car Sick or Something Else?



I always feel bad for both my dog owners and their pups when their dog arrives with a drool dripping or the people have to ask for a plastic bag and paper towel to clean up dog vomit. This is not fun for anyone! Some of you know the feeling of dread even when thinking about taking your dog in the car. You also find you are sad that you don't take your dog with you because the experience is so awful!

Maybe accompanied with drool or vomit is shaking and panting? Or let's back this up...Does your dog run and hide from you when you say "Wanna go for a Car ride?" Could this be something else? What if your dog doesn't have motion sickness but a fear of the car?  The symptoms can be identical. And if you have tried motion sickness medicine with no success perhaps the car ride problem is emotional.

How did this fear happen? Think about this....an 8 week old puppy's first car ride can occur during the fear imprinting period. This is not to say something bad happened, just that your puppy left what it knew for something different. Also the next car ride is usually to the Vet's for shots. Not happy occasions for the puppy.

Ruling out motion sickness leaves treatment for fear. This is no easy fix. But I have had a few dog owners' pups overcome this problem because they continued to get into the car. The people who had success did so knowing their dog may throw up, drool and pant but worked through it; never giving up.

So if fear is the problem you can start by being prepared for the worst.

  • Lay down a thick towel or couple of layers of towels. 
  • Let your pup ride in the front passenger seat; keep your dog tethered.
  • Plan a car ride EVERYDAY for two weeks.
Go to places that result in fun such as the park or a round trip back to home. With Hope and Practice, during this period of time, your dog will overcome their fear. 

Out of the DogHouse LLC website www.ohiodogtrainer.net
Contact Dru Therrian 440.286.9070





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